History
by southampton
Summary: History has a cruel habit of repeating itself and while it never repeats exactly, it does rhyme. A look at the end of life between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. One shot.


****This is something short and sweet that came to mind as I was working on a history project. I will get back to The Next Chapter soon (hopefully by next week); I've just been fighting writer's block with it. Anyways, let me know what you think - leave a review please!

And remember: I own nothing people!

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**History**

The war had been an unwonted bloody one. Sesshomaru had lived to see several now at the age of two thousand years old. But this one, ending in the year 1945, had made him wonder just what human were capable of doing to one another. Humans truly were capable of being far crueler than any demon – the horrors of the war in the Pacific and the bloodshed in Europe had proven that.

His mind wandered back to someone who had been forced to leave behind, his brother. The last time Sesshomaru had seen him was right before Sesshomaru saw his entire world come crashing down. Inuyasha had been standing there on the edge of ocean, looking out across the dark waters as the full moon was setting. His sliver-white hair was streaming in the wind. 'He looks so much like Father when he stands with his back to me on nights like tonight,' he thought. But then he noticed the blood dripping from his brother's left arm, staining the ground below. "Inuyasha," he said softly, approaching his brother. "What happened during your fight with Akunin?"

"He's dead but I am not as young as I used to be," Inuyasha said, not turning around.

"What do you mean by that?"

"He was a dragon from the mainland, a young and very strong Russian Fire Dragon," Inuyasha said quietly.

Sesshomaru was about ready to pick up him up and take him back to the Western Lands when a strong but bloody clawed hand caught his own pale one.

"No, I cannot go Sesshomaru. I need to go to the village."

"And do what? Protect a bunch of worthless humans who would rather kill you if they still believe in demons or those who don't even realize that our kind still exists?"

"I have something to protect Sesshomaru. The descendants of the monk and demon slayer are there. You know I promised them that I would always look after their family. The fox demon isn't strong enough to do it on his own."

"Are you insisting on going through with this all because of a stupid promise to two dead mortals?"

"Do you intend to stop me, Sesshomaru?"

The elder's eyes grew wide with pain as a realization struck him in the chest. This was almost like the last conversation he had with his father before he died. Was his brother about to die? No! This Sesshomaru would not permit it to happen!

"Do not be foolish, you know that I am bound by honor to respect your wishes. But I am asking you to reconsider."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Brother, I am also honor bound to carry out my promises whether or not the original party is alive or not. You know this."

Sesshomaru was silent. He knew that but he wished it wasn't so.

Inuyasha turned around and carefully took his brother's face into his right hand. His gold eyes were tender as he rubbed a calloused thumb along the magenta stripes he knew so very, _very _well. "Sesshomaru, you also have something to protect. Promise me that you will do so. Promise me on the honor of your rank of our clan, the Inu no Taisho. Promise me as the alpha of our pack. Promise me as a son of our father. And if nothing else, promise me as your mate."

Sesshomaru choked on those words. He wanted to protect Inuyasha and talk him out of going but he knew he couldn't. His brother was too much like their father, too damn stubborn for his own good. He rested his own hand on Inuyasha's and held it there to his face for a moment. "If that is what you want, then I will respect it."

Inuyasha nodded. "It is. Now, I must go to Hiroshima. Go to Nagasaki and get the little ones out of there." He leaned over and caught his mate in a chaste kiss. "I love you beyond what words can say. I love our pups and tell them that I will always love them."

Sesshomaru could only nod as his brother drew his hand away and stood facing the moon once more. He took out the leather strap that contained three fangs on it, one of his, one of Sesshomaru's and one from their father. Sesshomaru had removed the beads of subjection from him the night he claimed the younger as his own. The necklace was a gift from Sesshomaru's mother – a way of overriding Inuyasha's half-demon blood and allowed him to transform into a full dog demon. Gripping the fangs tightly in his claws, Inuyasha allowed a blue-green vortex of light to consume him as he transformed into his true form. He roared before leaping off the edge and disappearing into the night.

Hours later Sesshomaru would feel the white hot pain from his mating mark, telling him that Inuyasha was dead. He had left his pups in Jaken's care, far from the city of Nagasaki, before running to see what had happened.

The destruction was beyond words. No demon sword could produce that kind of destruction on such a massive scale. People cried out in terrible pain as he ran through the city. He eventually found the only sign of his mate – two swords standing in the earth. He recognized their father's sword right away and then Inuyasha's own sword. The Lord of the West fell to his knees in front of the crossed swords.

"No, not again," he whispered. Inuyasha was dead, just like Father. For the first time in nearly a millennia, the dog demon allowed tears to fall. No sound escaped his mouth; there were no howls of sorrow. Just tears, but those tears spoke more than what could ever be vocalized.

In time, Sesshomaru would go to the Netherworld to take the swords and bury them in his brother's tomb. This time however, no one would come for them. It had been decided long ago that their pups would not inherit any of their swords to prevent fighting between them.

Another fifty years would come and go after Sesshomaru lost his mate and brother. The seasons came and went as always, their pups grew up and time continued to march on. However, his body had never fully recovered from the radiation he was exposed to. Slowly, his body was falling to the strange poison.

He was near the Higurashi shire when he heard a voice he hadn't heard in fifty years. _Inuyasha_. He saw the young half demon following the strange miko from the shrine, talking about something about an evil Noh mask.

The old demon chuckled softly as he walked past the entrance to the shrine. He knew that wasn't his Inuyasha and there was no point in chasing or following him. Beside, he knew how things would turn out and he was feeling extremely tired. Sitting beneath the thousand-year-old sacred tree, he would rest for a while. His heart slowed and finally stopped all together as his body slumped against the tree. His body was quickly dissolved on the scared grounds but his spirit was set free from his mortal body. And waiting there on the other side, with his hand extended out was Inuyasha. _His Inuyasha_.


End file.
